thousand dreams, lotus boats upon the waters

[promittere]

NEW MOON ADAGIO

Between the constant requests from the North and the sense of tension that pervades the manor, Sage Tatara makes an executive decision: we're going North, baby.

Of all the things that have happened thus far, let this be the ultimate test of your magic. Even as we near summer, it's frigid. Protect yourselves and your allies from the cold. Protect yourselves while also fighting off monsters (or other territorial wizards, should you make the terrible mistake of wandering into another's territory), flying through the vast wilderness, or protecting the poor humans who need your help to survive. Time to blow off some of your steam. Just be sure to obey Tatara's one rule: don't kill each other.

One particular problem of note is in the Forest of Dreams. Without its guardian, many of these rogue monsters and dangerous predators, displaced from their normal habitats, have found their way into the forest. Many of them, however, are unable to survive against the fatal toxin, and there are plenty of animal corpses and mana stones that litter the forest. It might be best to clean these up before the forest guardian returns...

That said, the toxin is yet another thing you must protect yourself against in addition to the cold. While you can likely keep yourself from dying from the toxins, you may not be immune to its effects. This deadly toxin causes anyone who breathes it in to dream and hallucinate vividly, be it images of the past, imagined futures, thoughts of the present processed and warped...

Strangely enough, those nearby may end up sharing in your dreams... Did you want the darkest recesses of your thoughts, hopes, and fears unearthed for others to see?

Those who decide to venture far past the more populated (in relative terms) parts of the North may find themselves stumbling upon what looks to be an abandoned bandit hideout. It seems it's been abandoned for quite a while—nothing to loot here, sorry!—but there sure are a whole lot of monsters that have decided to make this hidden corner of the North their home.

While you're at it, you may find a nearby cave. Beautiful crystals dot the walls and the floors, and there are small pools of hot spring water free for relaxing. It seems to be relatively free of monsters, too. So maybe this wouldn't be a bad spot to relax, away from everything else?

However, there's one thing that makes this cave truly unique, and it isn't the vistas or the springs—it's the bats. These bats hear echoes of the past and replay them for visitors. Should you stay a while and listen, a bat may pay you a visit. And when it does, it may play for you the voices from the memories of visitors past, whose stories may hold a clue or two to your circumstances...

While the Forest of Dreams is a memory/dreamshare free for all, the aural memories replayed by the bats in the Cave of Time will come from one of the original wizards only. If you'd like an audio replay of a perhaps significant moment either in their personal life or a clue as to what happened to them (it will be randomized), then please reply to this comment!

JOB BOARD

Clean-up and repairs. While thanks to the hard work of your Eastern friends the worst was prevented, the City of Rain emerged from their short ordeal a little worse for wear.

Buildings need repair, blood needs to be cleaned off the streets, the injured need help. This is, perhaps, the only time you will be allowed to use magic openly in the city (you've been given permits and everything!), but you still are not allowed to talk outside of designated zones. Please, please don't get arrested...

As for the scrap that litters the streets? Unfortunately, you'll have to take it back to the scrapyard. But this time, there's a big, roaring bonfire out there. Just chuck all the scrap and debris in the fire. The city isn't taking any second chances—extreme situations call for extreme measures.

Reverence. Several Northern villages are currently outside the protection of a wizard, and have requested the sage's wizards' presence. They're terrified of the monsters and worried the barriers for their villages will fail sooner than later. They don't simply ask for help for free, however, and these smaller villages are steeped in their tradition—they'll pay you their respects, praying to you, offering you gifts, groveling at your feet, in hopes for a modicum of your time and protection. Do their offerings please you? Then assist them with what you deem appropriate for their worship to you: kill a few monsters for them, or a lot if you're pleased. Strengthen the barrier a lot, or not at all if you're displeased. It's up to you! You have the power here. What's it like to be a god for a day?

Ladies' night. The monthly lady officers' gathering is coming up in the City of Affluence—it's an exclusive meetup for the women involved in and related to Western military and bureaucratic affairs. Anyone is welcome, so long as they meet two requirements: they are outwardly presenting feminine, and they have an invitation to the gathering. Here's your chance to flex your transformation and glamour spells! Infiltrate the meetup with a disguise and a fake invitation, mingle, enjoy the drinks, the jazz, the entertainment, and find out what you can... What's the Western army up to? Be careful, though—don't get caught and kicked out!

The attendees seem to be excited about the new phantasmagoria technology and the upcoming display, and many whisper about the upcoming Venator meteor shower...

G'RAHA TASKS

Greetings, new friends! I am G'raha Tia, and while I hesitate to call myself a mentor or a replacement for the one you had, I am eternally grateful for the assistance I received and will do my best to help your cause in any way I can. To that end, I feel I may need to be caught up to speed on the events and get to know all of you.

We can have some tea and sandwiches and have a discussion! That's the best way to learn, sometimes.

TATARA ACTIVITIES

Even if we're not here for very long, I think we should leave our mark (not literally! Don't paint on the walls!). I got paint and big paper in the dining hall, but no brushes... Do you know what that means? Finger paint! Finger paint a portrait of yourself with your name and I'll hang it up in the library when they're all done!

Thanks to Cid and Khun, my camcorder works now. The thing is, what's the point of filming anything if we have no way to watch the film?! Could you guys work together to make some kind of projector? Or like...VHS player? We could have a movie night together!

OOC NOTES

🌙 Welcome to your fourth event! It's your dreamshare and memshare event! Ready to open up with your deepest and darkest secrets?
🌙 We're halfway through the game. How do you feel?
🌙 Back at the manor, Kurapika and Maya have set up a bulletin board! Leave comments, argue with your neighbors, have fun. Be nice. Don't set it on fire.
🌙 On the admin side of things, Lav has swapped out Wanderer for G'raha! Please say hello to your new mentor NPC.
🌙 Your OOC plotting post is here! Remember to keep all wider plotting to the post, and remember to check back frequently, since not everyone checks plurk or discord all the time.
🌙 The next country to go on their mission is North. Do you think a PVP-enabled mission will go well?

» NAVIGATION

Comments

[jorunna]

We did not. Mom uh, can't leave the grounds either. So there's not much of an excuse unless she wasn't feeling well.

[revengier]

We started working together after that, more or less. So, no. I did not keep ignoring his calls.

[ Mostly because Leorio stopped calling him once he could wrangle Kurapika in person. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

At least you learned eventually, I guess...?

[jokey]

Deal. Catch you later, Ahito.

[jokey]

Thanks.

[Akira can handle stripping out of the rest, pulling his shirt off overhead and wiggling out of his jeans. He folds his clothes and sets them aside, though he did consider yeeting them into the corner to join his socks.

Pulling on the t-shirt and shorts, he tugs at the duvet to curl up beneath it. He motions for Kurapika to join him with grabby hands extended out from the side of the blanket.]

[revengier]

[ Well, if Akira won't yeet them... Kurapika will at least push them off of his bed and into a nice little folded pile on the floor. He takes his sweet time peeling off all of his layers before pulling his pajamas on, his hair sticking up in a few places once he gets his shirt over his head.

There's no time to waste brushing his hair back down, though, not when Akira's reaching out his hands for him. Shuffling over to the side of the bed, he lifts up the covers and climbs in. ]

Casual clothes like this look good on you.

[lustro]

Ah.

[ It’s an idea that gives him pause and he blinks slowly at Day. The existence of celestial beings depends on the belief of people, so when they fade, they fade like a forgotten thought, as though they were never there at all.

But… dead wizards remain as mana stones?

In a way, he supposes that’s nice - to have something left of yourself for someone else… ]

… Um. [ Another blink, another waft of that out of place scent. ] Yeah. Yeah, I do.

[fellheart]

[ it certainly does take by surprise in the suddenness of it, even with the noted preamble ... heliobi, is it? a species of spirits, more or less, emotional vampires dependent on taking hosts in order to feel anything at all? ... it'd almost be pitiable, if it weren't for how bound they seem to be to the individual base desires they favor. ]

... quite the motley 'army' you had assembled. I would ask if their presentation wasn't specifically encouraged to, hm, induce a false sense of security and overconfidence in this Cirrus ...

Were it not for the fact that you clearly do simply just have that much faith in people.

[ though certainly, whether or not his army really was true in the way they conducted themselves prior to that engagement, he imagines that any competent strategist would be able to take advantage of his enemy's reactions accordingly.

... faith, hope, ideals. he does not in the least sympathize with the heliobi, outside of perhaps the faintest twinges of a detached pity from afar, but one thing in particular... ]

Were you certain that this student of yours would declare his challenge against Apyra?

[ 'or were you prepared to fight, if the child you'd once taught was not ready to and could not find his way on his own?' ]

[shortleash]

( , Ah, )

You're still—?

( Well, it makes more sense that Ginger's aroused in a new way than it being gone entirely, he guesses... He swallows, Ginger's chest - soft - he'd been trying not to focus on it (is it weird?? Well, clearly Ginger doesn't think so), but... )

... It's not like I've ever been interested in how anyone else looks...

( He's really only paid attention to it - and recently - with Ginger. The inn made and impression - and ... this does, too. He feels something stirring, but he's not sure what.

Tentatively, he pulls Ginger in toward him - holding him like he would a proper embrace, but, mm, there's definitely that gentle pressure between them. )

... Did you want to show me?

( He leaves it, as usual, up to Ginger - because Ginger doesn't always want to engage in that part of him.

Still, Ginger looks so cute all the time, but especially when he's self conscious (is that bad to say?). The way he wears his beating heart now, though, shades a little softer beneath the fresh curve of his eyelashes, and the gentle cascade of his hair; Mika finds he wants to play with it terribly - brush it aside, for every excuse to caress Ginger's face in the process. )

[mirristry]

[Protection spell aside, Phil is looking absolutely and utterly miserable even with his multiple layers of clothing. The cold of the North is bone-chilling, and Phil struggles with cold temperatures even at the best of times; he's got his arms wrapped around himself, visibly shivering. It takes him a moment to notice that he's even being spoken to.]

Oh... y-yes, if you wouldn't mind. I can't seem to concentrate when it's this cold...

[It's a lie, of course, but a perfectly plausible one under the circumstances. The weather is bitter, and Phil is struggling to keep himself distracted from the fact that he feels as though he's going to freeze into solid ice at any moment.]

[troublereduction]

[ Well, Phil...never did quite give Day the impression of someone who could withstand the cold (or any of the elements, really), so he can't say he's surprised at how miserable Phil looks. He doesn't suspect Phil's lying as he summons his prayer beads, wrapped around one of his hands, and recites his spell. ]

Amor manet.

[ For once, when his magic settles over Phil, it feels warm, like sitting next to a hearth on a winter's day. Phil might even find it comfortable despite Day fussing over whether this protection spell will hold up. ]

...There. Should be good.

[foresightis2020]

Hm? ...They have been active for a long time. Though, their activity seems to have shifted as of late.

As they attack, infrastructure can become damaged. Even if bringing down buildings isn't exactly their initial aim—

[ If Jing Yuan is going to say anything more, he doesn't. He turns around to face the building in question, as if something draws his attention—it seems deathly silent. But, in the next moment, it explodes into flame as opposed the smoldering flames it was before. People in the general area scatter, seeming to vanish as the edges of the memory begin to flicker violently. ]

—get back! Something is coming. It'd be best you do not get caught up in it.

[foresightis2020]

[ With the suddenness of the memories upon them, Jing Yuan isn't surprised by the commentary. As it is, his lips curl up into a slight smile at the observation; unsurprised because it is quite evident that it's true. ]

You would be correct.

Incidentally, I did at least have knowledge of their respective characters, so at the least it was not blind faith.

[ Though it is indeed something borne of a calculative move as well; expectations of certain performance and also to help influence the ultimate interaction between this spirit and themselves to induce an ultimately positive outcome.

The fact that Jing Yuan is, in general, someone who tends towards an optimistic point of view is not something incidental, however. It just is. ]

I was certain, yes. I taught him well, after all. Though he is still young and has much room to grow, Apyra has only spent mere hours compared to the many years that I have.

His skills of manipulations pale in comparison to the powerful bond between myself and Yanqing. However, I did certainly consider the possibility that his regrets would overflow, encouraging the less likely outcome to occur. But, that didn't come to pass.

[specialinquisitor]

[Her now-empty hand hangs in midair for a moment, before the fingers curl with a creak of leather.]

Count yourself lucky that teaching you the error of your ways would harm our purpose here, boy.

[specialinquisitor]

Yes, I rather gathered that. It seems everyone wants to step forward and take up my share.

[specialinquisitor]

Or there could perhaps be another reason why you refuse to even consider using one.

[Y'know. To put it bluntly, as she obviously needs to.]

[specialinquisitor]

Such fear could very likely have a history in persecution or conquest, so revoking them would be very difficult indeed. For all we know, it may have saved their ancestors. But it definitely seems to be no longer useful as a prohibition, and more trouble than it's worth.

[fallingsand]

Hey, don't be like that.

[ Here Bruno goes, moving his hand off Ahito's shoulder and reaching over to ruffle his hair instead. ]

People choose to sacrifice for others out of love, Ahito. I'm sure she has no regrets. I mean, I know I wouldn't have any, either, if you or any of my nieces or nephews came to me that way.

[fallingsand]

But it should have been possible. The vision had two outcomes, Urianger! I... we... we thought we had it figured out...

[ But maybe they hadn't. Maybe he had misread it all. It's his fault, it's all his fault, and it will always be his fault. He seems to sink in on himself, shoulders slouching and his head bowing, thick curly bangs moving with the motion to hide his face. ]

I don't know what to do. Part of me wants to stay here and not face what's happened... back home... but I love my home... and my family... and if I don't go back, they're gonna blame Mirabel and she doesn't deserve that.

[fellheart]

Ah. The situation was made to sound so grave that I'd thought a latent infection, so to speak, went undetected for longer.

[ poison licking its way through the mind, laying foundations slowly but surely...

until eventually, the person affected doesn't know which way is up without being told. what it seems to robin is that this heliobus played its hand far too soon. ]

How boldly arrogant of this Apyra, then, to think it could so thoroughly subvert someone within a few short hours. If anyone had any strength of will or character to speak of, of course they'd put up more resistance than that. And then it claims to know him, inside and out ... Are they all like that?

[ they continue to dodge the subject of chrom's death, but robin is well aware of the juxtaposition of his words against what happened then. ]

[troublereduction]

Gettin' real sick of this world pickin' at this wound, is all I'm gonna say.

[ Because it's not enough that Akira's passenger ripped it open for him and made sleep difficult for a while, it seems.

As they approach, they can see a somewhat younger Day standing on the stage, closer to a teenager than whatever maturity he has now. What follows is a hallucination more like a fever dream, or the kind of experience where you think you might be going insane because surely that's what going on instead of divine interference. It's vivid and intense, enough that for a moment you could almost believe destiny has come for you too.

The real Day is simply going to freeze up, one hand gripping his arm tight as if the pain will ground him as an old wound is opened again. ]

[lighthaus]

Shut up, you're far from the first. [ #3 is far enough, right? yeah. ]

Let's get going before either of us share any more heart warming memories with each other.

[lighthaus]

...that's not how that works, if it even does.

[ hm. ]

Did you lose that ability here?

[fallingsand]

I mean, I do give out bad visions... mostly... more often than not, so, it kind of is how it works?

[ That part is inevitable. Or maybe Khun thinks him being blamed isn't how it works and yet, it still happens. ]

But no, I can still do that here. Urianger and I tested it out.

[lighthaus]

I meant that it's not your fault, so there's no point in blaming you.

[ that's just stupid in his opinion. ]

I'm assuming you don't get to pick what visions you want to see. Or else I imagine you would have used it to figure out what's going to happen to all of us.